Chris Rock says he’s ‘still processing what happened’ at the Oscars

Three days after the Oscars witnessed a rather unfortunate smack, comedian and host Chris Rock finally broke his silence about Will Smith’s reaction to his joke about the Oscar-winner’s wife, actor Jada Pinkett Smith. Not amused by the joke, Smith walked up to the stage and slapped Rock in front of everyone and yelled slurs and curse words after he was seated again.

As reported by People, on Wednesday night, the 57-year-old comedian addressed the ordeal at a show he was performing at The Wilbur in Boston. He told the audience, "I'm still processing what happened."

It was his first appearance since the 94th Academy Awards and according to an audience member, the very rowdy crowd screamed Rock’s name and welcomed him on stage with applause, and even gave him a standing ovation as he took centre stage dressed in white and black.

Rock further told fans that while he’s still “processing” what happened, he’d like to talk about the incident at some point in a serious manner and not in form of humour. After this statement, he continued his show declaring that now is not that time and that he had written a whole show full of jokes for Wednesday evening.

Prior to the show, a line of hundreds was waiting to see Rock.

An audience member noted that there were people in the crowd that yelled Smith’s name during the show, but Rock remained indifferent to them and never mentioned the Best Actor Oscar winner by name once throughout his set. "Except for a couple of weird things, life is pretty good right now," Rock said later in his standup routine.

Following Sunday night's altercation, ticket sales for Rock's upcoming tour dates saw a surge in popularity, according to secondary ticket seller TickPick.

On Sunday night, Rock took a jab at Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head and jokingly asked if she had any plans of appearing in G I Jane 2. "Jada I love you, G I Jane 2, can't wait to see it," he said, referencing the 1997 film in which Demi Moore undergoes Navy Seal training and shaves her head to appear less feminine.

Pinkett-Smith, who has been vocal about her struggle with alopecia, was uncomfortable because of the joke. Sensing the discomfort, Smith slapped Rock on stage and yelled curse words at him. "Keep my wife's name out of your f-----g mouth." Smith remained seated with his wife at his table for the rest of the night. Rock declined to press charges.

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